"A Conversation with the Chief Prosecutor of United States Military Commissions" with Brigadier General Mark Martins

Please join General Martins for this timely and important presentation and Q&A hosted by the Roger Hertog Program on Law and National Security.

Columbia Law School is pleased to host Brigadier General Mark Martins, Chief Prosecutor for the United States in cases alleging violations of the law of war and lead trial counsel in the prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four other accused perpetrators of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Martins will outline major provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2009--which reformed a system much criticized when established in 2001 by presidential order--and will address the due process protections, constitutional authority, established sources of law, narrowness of jurisdiction, oversight by United States federal civilian courts, compliance with international legal obligations, public trial requirements, and transparency measures that characterize the reformed military commissions. Martins will also address continuing challenges to the reformed system's legitimacy, suggest what will be necessary to surmount perceptions of "victor's justice," and offer thoughts on the future of efforts to hold al Qaeda and associated forces accountable under law.

Initial remarks will be on the record and subject to no restrictions on republication. Much of the time will be reserved for questions; while trial counsel are precluded from discussing specifics of ongoing prosecutions, queries of the speaker on broader questions are encouraged. The Chatham House Rule will be in effect during the question and answer period to stimulate open discussion and the sharing of information. Participants will thus be free to use the information received during the Q&A period but should reveal neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker, nor that of any other participant.